An undocumented immigrant in New York City was denied the right to a jury trial this week, despite a landmark New York Court of Appeals decision on the issue, after a judge from Queens said his motion to do so was made too far along in the litigation.

Fredy Lopez, the defendant in the case, had asked the judge in the middle of his bench trial for a jury trial after a decision from the state’s highest court said undocumented immigrants should be offered a jury trial if they’re at risk of being deported following a conviction.